The Crown coaches reveal how actors portray the royals

LONDON: As the final season of ‘The Crown’ prepares for release, centering on the last days of Princess Diana in the initial episodes, the performance coaches of the show have shared insights into how the cast achieves their character portrayals.

As part of their preparation for the Netflix royal drama, William Conacher explained that he and the cast studied footage of the British royals without sound to capture their distinctive gestures and behaviors.

“The first thing I emphasize is that nobody needs to mimic anyone, and I don’t think anyone has ever done that on this show,” Conacher, the supervising dialect coach, told Reuters. “It’s more about analyzing facial expressions, mouth movements, and head postures and then letting your own voice align with those physical cues.”

This approach has yielded success, with Claire Foy and Olivia Colman, who portrayed Queen Elizabeth at different stages of her life, receiving awards for their performances.

“When we’re talking about the Queen, it’s important to note that if you don’t open your mouth much, don’t move your lips too extensively, and maintain a relaxed demeanor, you create very little distance,” Conacher added. “Diana, on the other hand, opened her mouth more and spoke in a softer tone. These are subtle details, but they provide hints on how to adapt your voice to match the character without altering it significantly.”

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Polly Bennett, the movement coach, collaborated with the actors to understand how their physicality evolved in each season.

“This encompasses unique movements, such as Diana’s characteristic head tilting or Prince Charles’ subtle head posture,” Bennett explained.

The sixth season, scheduled for release in two parts on November 16 and December 14, commences in the summer of 1997, shortly before the tragic car accident that claimed the life of Diana, mother to Prince William and Prince Harry and the first wife of the current King Charles. Actors Imelda Staunton, Dominic West, and Elizabeth Debicki reprise their roles as Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, and Diana, respectively.

“While working with Imelda this season, we delved into discussions about how the Queen ages and the changes in her physicality. This includes her use of eyeglasses and a slightly slower pace when walking,” Bennett remarked. “We also delved into the Queen’s history, acknowledging that whenever she walks somewhere, she always knows her destination because someone is guiding her.”